BALTI SQUARES UP TO TOWN CENTRE BAR by Steven Hughes

BOLLYWOOD glamour will be coming to Wokingham in around three months’ time when a town centre bar gets a new makeover.

The Square Bar, in Market Place, which has been closed for the past four months, reopened on Boxing Day afternoon following its purchase by restaurant chain Originasia – which also owns the Sultan Balti next door.

The nightspot will be refurbished in March, when the first floor will be joined to the first floor of the Sultan Balti, but new assistant manager Shied Ali plans to introduce a number of theme nights to the bar straight away to give customers a taste of what is to come.

He said: “We’re going to keep it as The Square bar for now and refurbish it around March time.

“At the moment it looks as it was before it closed, when it was a bit tacky.

“We’re going to make it a bit more classy and hopefully make it attractive to people of all ages.

“But even though the refurbishment is not going to be until March, we are going to have lots of theme nights until then.

“I’ve been walking around Wokingham and I’ve noticed that all the pubs are pretty much the same.

“I’ve also been talking to customers, who are popping in for one drink and then heading off to Reading because they have got more choice.

“I want to bring Reading to here. This is a nicer town and I want that choice to be here.”

Among the themes the pipeline so far are Bollywood, karaoke, Bhangra, 70s disco and funk, and the bar will also be putting on something special for Valentine’s Day.

Although the downstairs bar will remain separate to the restaurant, it will keep strong ties by introducing 10 per cent discount on meals for customers using the bar, and vice versa.

The company will also be applying for a late license. In the meantime it will be open for normal pub hours and Mr Ali is concentrating on letting people know the bar is back in business.

He added: “The boss told me to get it ready and we thought we might as well open it up. So far it has been steady but people don’t really know it’s open at the moment.

“They are walking past with a night out already planned.”

Bhanu Pratap, general manager of pub and restaurant chain Originasia, said: “The idea came about because in and around Wokingham there are not that many pubs that provide live entertainment.

“We also want to provide a place where corporate clients can relax and talk. This is a very exciting time.”